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Taxodium distichum

Common name:	Swamp Cypress	Family:	Taxodiaceae
Author:	(L.)Rich.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Cupressus disticha (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - New Jersey to Florida and Texas.
Habitat:	Wet sites that are under water for at least part of the year[82], and often overlying calcareous soils[43]. Often found where the water is brackish[200].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cupressus disticha var. nutans[G] T. ascendens f. nutans[G] T. distichum var. distichum[G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Baldcypress [H,FEIS,DEN1,P], Southern Bald-cypress [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	distichum = 2 ranked;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Redwood family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico; Us

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 30m by 8m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower in April, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil and can grow in water. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Pond, Bog Garden, Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic.

The resin in the cones is used as an analgesic for wounds[149, 227].

Other Uses

Fibre; Wood.

The bark has been used to make cordage[257].
Wood - light, soft, not strong, moderately hard, easily worked, straight grained, very durable in damp soil, takes a good polish. It weighs 28lb per cubic foot[227]. The wood is not given to excessive warping or shrinking[227], it is used for construction, water pipes, vats etc[1, 46, 61, 82, 149, 171, 227].

Cultivation details

Although this plant can be grown in wet soils and shallow water, it thrives in any soil and trees actually grow faster in normal unflooded soils[81]. Established plants succeed in standing water up to 60cm deep[200] - in such a situation the roots develop 'knees', curious cone-shaped structures that grow above the ground[227]. Tolerates the high pH of chalk streams[200]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[200].
Fairly cold-tolerant, but branches can be damaged by temperatures below -10°c[200].
A fairly vigorous tree, it can grow up to 45cm in a year with up to 4cm increase in girth[185]. It has been planted for its timber in S. Europe, especially on alluvial soils[50]. Buds often begin to break in March, but trees do not come properly into leaf until June and growth in height rarely starts before June[185].
A very healthy species in Britain, rarely seen in anything but good health. It seems to be a very long-lived tree in this country with several specimens more than 250 years old[185]. Trees are thought to live for over 1,000 years in the wild[227]. Plants grow best in areas with warm summers[200]. They only produce fertile seeds after long hot summers[200].
The branches are brittle and subject to wind damage, but the tree usually recovers well[81].
Unlike most conifers, this species responds well to coppicing[81].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
If sowing a lot of seed you could sow it in early spring in an outdoor seedbed[78]. Allow the plants to grow on in the seedbed for two years and then plant them into their permanent positions in late autumn or early spring.
Cuttings in the late summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Taxodium distichum var. distichum (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for taxodium distichum (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Taxodiaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Taxodium distichum

M. Kandl (bujia57@aol.com) Sat Nov 30 19:55:38 2002

I would like to get some more information about site preparation, irrigation, fertilization, pest control, pruning, and handling of Bald Cypress. Any web site info where I can turn is greatly appreciated.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Taxodium+distichum
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